Help working out a spec for a pc under my tv...

[menthel]

I have run against a brick wall working this one out. I hardly ever use my desktop nowdays and am thinking of downsizing to something that would go under my tv, which has a d-sub input on the back. It would basically be used to hold mine and the wife's mp3 collections, which would be played through this and my xbox360. I would also like to be able to play games such as AOE 3 every so often with my mates over the internet.

So my current idea would be either a micro atx eg: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=298779

but also like the idea of going dual core, so was thinking 805 or 930 pentium. I want this to be as cheap as possible, as quiet as possible and to fit in my tv stand!

Help me!

[DanceswithUnix]

That is a nice & quiet motherboard, I have one in front of me here with a dual core Athlon X2 4200 in it. Mine is in an Aspire X-Qpack case where the 120mm fan makes quite a racket and I am not that impressed with the looks (but then it is sat next to a Shuttle which looks fantastic).

The hard part is finding a case, and they do tend to be lunatic expensive for good & quiet media PC ones.

What dimensions do you need to fit into?

I am not an age of empires fan, how much graphics oomph does it need?

[menthel]

It runs at very close to full spec on my current pc above. I am looking at the sliverstone cases, but my max height is probably about 145mm. Which is a pain. Do riser cards work well?

[BigBry]

It's worth considering this motherboard too for a S939 solution;

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=327680

I'd favour AMD, including dual cores. I find the Intels (including dual cores) run warmer and therefore it's less easy to keep the PC (HTPC) quiet.

The Silverstone LC11 is a good, low height unit at a reasonable cost, although the PSU is non-standard and may limit your gaming requirements. I added some comments to someone else asking about this case here;

http://forums.hexus.net/showthread.p...highlight=lc11

[BigBry]

Do riser cards work well?

They tend to limit your use of bigger, wider cards like higher spec graphics cards, but obviously give you a nice low profile solution.

[menthel]

Intel wise, has anyone got experience with this mobo?

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=226862

I know intel runs hot, but would actually be cheaper...

[BigBry]

A couple of cases that fit your height requirement are the Enlight 7473 (remarkably small depth too but has a small PSU), the Silverstone LC03, the (sometimes hard to get) Coolermaster CM250 (and maybe some others in this range).

[menthel]

How about these for the case?

http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/pro...ccases/dvine-5

http://specialtech.co.uk/spshop/cust...cat=163&page=1

[menthel]

This one looks fantastic!

http://www.antec.com/us/productDetai...?ProdID=92400#

[DanceswithUnix]

If you need something with the performance of a 6800gt to run your game, then you are probably looking at the 7600GS. Around 6600GT performance, so not far off what you have now, but easily & cheaply available with passive cooling.

As far as saving cost by going Intel is concerned, you are probably better off for gaming with a single core AMD solution right now, or wait 2 months for Conroe based systems to come out. Cooling even an Intel 930 is going to require a lot of airflow.

Some power graphs...

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets...px?i=2736&p=10

[menthel]

I was wondering if a nice x1800gto made by his might be a good card to be bought at a later date? You see how difficult I am finding this! Your point about the cpu's is valid.

How about this for a mobo for an amd?

http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?sku=315294

[BigBry]

This is an interesting read but you'll need half size cards;

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=348233

[menthel]

I have seen those, but they now retail for about £330!

[FatalSaviour]

That does look very nice Bry